Thursday, January 1, 2015

It's Time for my 2014 Reading List



I am not sure how many years I have posted my list of books read in the prior year on New Years Day.  I've kept the list in my little notebook much longer.  I read awhile back that Art Garfunkel, a prolific reader himself, has kept a list of the books he's read since he was sixteen. I wish I had done the same. In fact, this year, along with books (and book gift cards), I gave my granddaughter Avery--about to turn nine--a little notebook where she can record what she reads.

 The record, which I maintain on my wall calendar, tells me much about my years.  I read fewer books in January and February as a new school semester begins.  My best reading month this year was May, particularly since I left town the morning after graduation ceremonies and headed to Dog Island, Florida, where no television or internet competed with books, allowing me to slough off the old school year.

I notice that I read quite a variety, lots of poetry (probably more than I've listed here) and more nonfiction that I once read.  My reading has taken me all over the world and back in time. I've laughed out loud (a lot) and cried just a little.  I've stopped in the middle of a page to call or email someone I think should be reading the same book.  I can't even wait to finish to be sure.  The one I'm reading right now, Shari Smith's I Am a Town, is just that kind of book. I have specific chapters earmarked for different people.

When people ask for book suggestions, my answers vary according to the asker. Some books I know one friend will love, while it would leave other reading friends untouched. Right now I'm assembling piles to passel out (part of my plan for cleaning out the study). I can't usually give my books away, but I can send them on long journeys. I'll have much to say later about my Christmas gift books (every one perfect choices) and my other to-read list. For now, here's my list. I'd love to see yours too.

Seventy Books I Read in 2014:

Robert Swartwood, ed. Hint Fiction
Louise Erdrich, The Round House
Curtis Sittenfeld, Sisterland
Wiley Cash, The Dark Road of Mercy
Alan Bradley, The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches
Amy Tan, Valley of Amazement
Alison Kemper, Donna of the Dead
Joseph Bathanti, Concertina
Fannie Flagg, The All-Girls Filling Station Reunion
Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl
Sue Monk Kidd, The Invention of Wings
Graeme Simsion, The Rosie Project
Louise Shivers, Here to Get My Baby out of Jail
Joyce Meyer Hostettler, Blue
Francine Rivers, Redeeming Love
Emma Donoghue, Frog Music
Anna Quindlen Still Life with Bread Crumbs
Christine Baker Kline, The Orphan Train
Elizabeth Blackwell, While Beauty Slept
Frances Mayes, Under Magnolia
Vivienne Schiffer, Camp Nine
Laurie Kolp, Upon the Blue Couch
Gabrielle Zevin, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry
Pat Conroy, The Death of Santini
Herman Koch, The Dinner
Michael Beadle, Invitation
Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly, The Tilted World
Gabrielle Zevin, Elsewhere
Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane
E. Lockhart, We Were Liars
Robert M. Edsel, The Monuments Men
Piper Kerman, Orange Is the New Black
Joe Formichella, ed. The Shoe Burnin’: A Collection of Southern Soul
Lily Koppel, The Astronauts’ Wives Club
Dianne Setterfield, Bellman and Black
Jane Hertenstein, Freeze Frame
Sherman Alexie, Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
Suzanne Hudson, All the Way to Memphis
Ilene Beckerman, Love, Loss, and What I Wore
Peter Heller, The Painter
Justin Go, The Steady Running of the Hour
David Radavich, The Countries We Live In
Courtey Maum, I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You
Joe Formichella, Waffle House Rules
Rachel Joyce, Perfect
Kathryn Ma, The Year She Left Us
Stephen King, Mr. Mercedes
Jill McCorkle, Life After Life
Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See
Robert Galbraith, The Cuckoo’s Calling
Judith Richards, Thelonius Rising
Rainbow Rowell, Landline
Robert Galbraith, The Silkworm
Smith Henderson, Fourth of July Creek
JoJo Moyes, One Plus One
Joe Queenan, One for the Books
Bill O’Reilly, Killing Lincoln
Adam Pick, The Patient’s Guide to Heart Valve Surgery
Liane Moriarty, The Husband’s Secret
Yvonne Wakefield, Suitcase Filled with Nails: Lessons Learned Teaching Art in 
    Kuwait
Alison Kemper, Dead over Heels
Haruki Murakami, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Tom Perotta, The Leftovers
Joseph Mills, This Miraculous Turning
Liane Moriarty, Big Little Lies
Scott Owens, To
Peg Bresnahan, In a Country None of Us Calls Home
Michael McFee, The Smallest Talk
Edward Rutherford, Paris
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

If you're still with me, you may find an imbedded link to the IndieBound Next List, my not-so-subtle hint that you support independent booksellers.

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2 comments:

Teddy Copeland said...

Thanks, Nancy. I will print this out to take with me to the library in case I can't find some titles on my own. Already read several of these, but others sound intriguing! Love the idea of giving Avery a notebook to record what she reads. Will have to do that for my grands when they are a bit older.

Teddy Copeland said...

Thanks, Nancy. I will print this out to take with me to the library in case I can't find some titles on my own. Already read several of these, but others sound intriguing! Love the idea of giving Avery a notebook to record what she reads. Will have to do that for my grands when they are a bit older.